Life-preserver.



F. C. WHEELER.

LIFE PRESERVER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 14. 1915.

1,171,288. Patented Feb. 8,1916.

s'rA-Es PATENT O Q i1 ,LIFE-P'RESERVER.

the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in life preservers, and the object of the invention is to rovide a sim le and inex 3611- sive life preserver of the cork jacket type,

which may be very easily applied, and in which the distribution of cork is such that proper flotation of the supported body is insured. v

The ordinary cork jacket life preserver consists of a number of bars or slabs of cork,

sewn up'in canvas to form a wide belt with straight, parallel, upper and lower edges.

v broad belt, so that when a person wearing wearers arms.

one is in the water, the support is so low that there is a very strong tendency to upset either forward or backward. When the jacket is put on in the hurry of emergency, the shoulder straps are more often than not uncrossed, allowing the jacket to slip even lower on the body, with the result that it is practically impossible for the wearer to remain upright in the water except by continuous effort, and in some cases, absolutely impossible. These facts have been demonstrated by recent marine disasters, and are here recited to accentuate the necessity and peculiar usefulness of the structural features of the'present invention. i

The life preserver according to this invention is in the form of a jacket, consisting of cork slabs sewn up in canvas, and

having the lower edge sloping downwardly from the center to the ends, which meet at the front. The upper edge slopes downwardly from the center and from the ends, the lowest point being midway between the center and ends, so as to come under the Straps are suitably posi- Specification of Letters Patent.

slabs 12 are shortest of all. cork or other suitable buoyant'material are inclosed 1n canvas or similar fabric, w h1ch is .tioned to adjust-ably secure the device to the body. Y

1 The particularshape of the jacket and" the arrangement of straps, which do not require to be crossed but merely to. be drawn tight around the neck and under the arms, provide for the location of the cork higher on the 'wearers body than usual, and with the maximum amount of cork at the front, thus preventing a personfalling face forward into the water and drowning.

in the drawings which illustrate the invention: Figure l is a plan view of the device extended fiat. Fig. 2 an end elevation of the device foldedfor storage. Fig. 31 a side elevation of the device as worn.

Referring more particularly to the draw-Y ings, 11 designates a center or back slab of cork, 12 the side slabs, and 13 the front slabs. The side slabs 12 are. of considerably less width than the back slab, and the front slabs together are of approximately the same width as the backslab, and are longer than the back slab. while the side so arranged that considerable webs'let of the fabrioextend between the cork slabs. The upper edge 15 of the. device slopes downwardly from the center of theback slab, and

Patented Feb. 8,1916. I Application filed June 14, 1915. Serial No. 34,001.

I These slabs of the remote edges ofthe. front slabs to approximately the center of the side slabs,

while the lower edge 16 slopes downwardly from the center of the back slab to the remote edges of the front slabs, the inclination of the lines being such that the front slabs V are longest, the back slab of'intermediate length, and the side slabs shortest.

-Ropes or straps 17 are attached at one end adjacent the centerof the upper edgeand extend toward the front of the device, where they pass through rings lS'secured in any suitable position on or adjacent the upper edge and adjacent the end edges. These ropes or straps may conveniently .be knotted or otherwise enlarged, asshownat 19, to prevent disengagement thereof from the rings 18. Another rope or ropes 20 is at tached at its approximate center to the center of the back slab a short distance above the lower edge, and extend toward the end edges, where it passes through rings 21 secured to the outer surface of the front slabs adjacent the end edges, and at some considerable distance from the bottom edge. The

it will be seen in Fig. 1 are in the form of loops, extending from front to back. The life preserver is then drawn on similarly to a coat, and the ends of the rope 17 drawn as tightly as comfort will permit around the wearers neck and tied. This drawing of the ropes has the effect of raising and holding the life preserver as high as possible on the body.' The lower rope 20 is similarly drawn tight and tied, thus securing the lower part of the device close against the body. The unfilled webs 14c of material between the cork slabs give the necessary flexibility to enable the device to be passed around the body, and also provide for adjustment according to the size of the person wearing the device. For a child or slight person, these webs will be quite slack, and the edges of the cork slabs comparatively close to one another, while for a very stout person the webs will be extended to full length. The total width of the cork slabs and of the webs 14 are therefore so proportioned that the life preserver will fit equally Well on persons of twenty-four to fiftyesix chest measure; The long front slabs of 'cork increase the floating power in the front of the body to such an extent that it is impossible for a person wearing the jacket to remain face forward in the water, and when applied in anything a 'iproaching the correct "manner, the cork slabs project sufliciently upward to hold the forward fallen head of an unconscious person out of the water. in fact, the large floatlng power 111 the front has the tendency of forcing the person back- 1: ward in the water, thus keeping the mouth and nose as far as possible from waves and spray. The drag of the ropes 17 in tlghtening draws all the cork slabs upwardly, but

particularly the back slab, so that there is sufficient floating power disposed high up on the shoulders to absolutely prevent the wearer falling backward in the water, under the influence of greater floating power at the front of the jacket.

Havingthus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a life preserver, a fabric jacket opening at the front having therein spaced slabs of cork, arranged at front, back and sides, the front slabs being longer than the back and the back slabs longer than the side slabs.

'2. In a device of the character described, a jacket comprising a fabric strip having the lower ed 'e thereof sloping downwardly from the center toward the ends, and the upper edge thereof sloping downwarc ly from the center and ends to intermediate points, whereby the ends of said strip are of greater depth than the center, and the center of greater depth than the points intermediate itself and the ends, and floats mounted in saidfabric strip in spaced relation at the center, ends and intermediate points.

3. In a life preserver, a fabric jacket, back, front and side floats secured therein, the front float being of greater depth than the back float and extending farther up and down on the wea er than the back float, the back float. being designed to lie against the back of the wearers shoulders and upwardly to the base of the neck, and the side floats each smaller than the back float and positioned against the sides of the wearers body under thearms, ropes rigidly connected to the back float and passing over the wearers shoulders and adjustable through FRANK G. WHEELER.

Witnesses S. R. M. ALLEN, G. M. MORELAND.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. C. 

